Turkey Meatball Parmesan

This weekend, I finally started making my way through my epic list of freezer meals to cook before baby arrives. {I’ll be sharing my list, links, and instructions on the blog soon.} And I just have to say…it was the most fun ever! Sunday morning, we woke up to a massive snowstorm here in Chicago. I was already planning to spend the entire day inside cooking, but the storm just made it so much easier and fun to do. I had absolutely nowhere to be but in our kitchen, chopping onions, mincing garlic, making a mess, and using every single burner on our stove. I cooked about eight meals in one day. As silly as it sounds, I haven’t felt a sense of accomplishment quite like that in a long time. I can’t wait to do it again soon–there’s still a lot to make in the next few weeks.

At the top of my list for the next round: These heavenly meatballs. I cannot get enough. And the wonderful thing is, they’re ridiculously easy to make. Just make your favorite meatball recipe {I use a healthy turkey meatball recipe, below, but you can make any kind of meatball you like–turkey, chicken, beef, etc.}. Brown the meatballs on the stove, add them to a baking dish {I love our Le Creuset Casserole} with your favorite jarred tomato sauce, bury it all under an obscene amount of shredded mozzarella, and bake until bubbly and gooey and omg so delicious.

They’re so great on their own that I don’t even bother serving them with pasta, though you totally can! Every time I make this I just roast some broccoli until it’s brown and crispy and pile it beside the meatballs. It really doesn’t get any better than this.

In a bowl combine meatball ingredients (ground turkey through beaten egg). Mix with your hands until combined. Form into meatballs smaller than ping pong balls. I get about 40 to 45 meatballs.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a medium-sized pot on the stove. Add meatballs in batches, being careful not to crowd the pan. Brown meatballs on both sides. They don’t have to be cooked through– they’ll finish cooking in the oven. Add additional olive oil between batches, if needed.

Pour half of the jar of sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. As you finish browning each batch of meatballs, transfer them to the baking dish. Once all the meatballs are browned and in the baking dish, pour the remaining pasta sauce on top. (Here’s where you may want to add some extra sauce from a second jar.) Sprinkle grated mozzarella over everything. Cover and bake for 30 minutes until bubbly.

Remove dish from oven. Move top rack just below the broiler and heat broiler to HI. Remove the cover from the baking dish and broil meatballs until a light brown crust forms on the cheese, about 3 minutes.